Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
WAVERLY — Some of the most dangerous teams during tournament time are often underappreciated throughout the season.
West hasn’t made its appearance on many radars yet. However, the Senators may just be for real.
During Friday’s SOC opener at Waverly, West (6-2, 1-0 SOC III) hit on all cylinders during the first half. Using two separate 11-0 runs to seize and sustain a lead, the Senators built a double-digit edge before holding off a late Waverly rally to nail down a 58-50 victory.
“I thought we came out strong and Waverly is a really good team with good size and good shooters,” West coach Caleb McClanahan said. “We knew they would give us some problems. But I thought our zone [defense] did what our zone does. It aggravates guards. And our chemistry on the offensive end, we couldn’t be more excited for it. These kids look like they’ve played together their entire lives, and most of them have.”
CREDIT: Sam Walsh/SOSA
Junior Will Kegley found the bottom of the net early and often. In fact, he was responsible for the Senators’ first nine points. He then passed the torch to teammate Logan Wolfenbarker, who helped West keep a late lead intact.
Together, that duo combined for 37 points and 10 rebounds. Try as it might, Waverly (4-5, 0-1 SOC III) simply couldn’t find an answer.
“We couldn’t be any happier about how Logan is fitting in with us,” McClanahan said. “Then, of course, Will is really starting to come into that leadership role and being the guy for us. When you have a running mate like Logan, they’re a handful on any night. Then you add in all the pieces around them, and we have a nice nucleus that does the things we preach about winning basketball games.”
Sawyer Myers gave Waverly the night’s first score just 38 seconds into the action but Kegley went on a 9-1 run to put West ahead 9-3 with 3:15 to go in the first quarter — the Senators never trailed again.
Gunnar Shonkwiler got in on the action for an 11-3 count before Corbin Miller rounded out the team’s first 11-0 run with a bucket of his own. By the end of the frame, West had an 18-7 lead and had seen its zone defense limit the Tigers to a 3-of-9 shooting effort with four turnovers.
“It’s a 1-3-1 and it looks a little different,” McClanahan said. “[Waverly] made some nice adjustments to it, but it’s just a thing we can wear a team down with. There’s only so many things you can do against it. We’ve been running it since we got here to Portsmouth West. It’s something we believe in. Our kids buy into it and they play it hard. And we’re not a one-trick pony, either. This group can sit down and guard man-to-man as well.”
After Mason Parker nailed a 3 early in the second, Kegley and Braden Adkins both scored for a 26-10 lead with 2:22 remaining. When Owen Richards dialed long distance at the 1:22 mark, it capped the second 11-0 run and put the Senators in front by 19 points at 29-10.
PHOTOS: Images from West’s win over Waverly
Waverly, however, wasn’t going away quietly.
After trimming the Senators’ lead to 14 by halftime, the Tigers continued to chip away in the third. When freshman Kage Alexander hit a 3 with 5:43 to play, it put an end to a 7-0 run and made it a 27-22 count.
But each time the Tigers would mount a comeback attempt, West delivered a counterpunch.
An 8-0 run made it a 37-22 ballgame with 3:50 left in the third before the Senators took a 41-28 advantage into the final eight minutes.
With the Senators leading 43-33 at the 6:18 mark in the fourth, the Tigers got one final push. An 11-4 scoring run spearheaded by Myers and Teagan Hurt brought them to within three at 47-44.
But late in the game, when they needed them the most, Kegley and Wolfenbarker stepped in to will the Senators over the finish line by a 58-50 final — finding ways to get to the bucket and knocking down foul shots.
“Any time you’re playing in the league, you try to win your home games and steal wins on the road,” McClanahan said. “We talked about this game being a big one that we wanted to steal on the road and we came in here and got the job done.”
Kegley ended the night with a game-high 24 points alongside six rebounds while Wolfenbarker chipped in with 13 points, four boards and three assists. Gunnar Shonkwiler also helped out with four points and a team-high nine rebounds, and Braden Adkins finished with eight points.
Myers paced Waverly’s attack, scoring 17 points and bringing down five rebounds. Kage Alexander also contributed with nine points, and Eli Hobbs posted five points, nine rebounds and three assists.
After a second consecutive loss to Gallia Academy on Saturday, the Tigers will attempt to get back in the win column on Tuesday at Wheelersburg. Meanwhile, West will host Valley on Tuesday before traveling to Minford on Saturday.
“Now that we’re in a smaller division, this league really prepares us for the tournament,” McClanahan said. “I don’t think too many Division VI teams are going to have to go through what we do to prepare. We just hope we can get a little better every day. We shot the ball well early tonight, and then kind of faded. I’d like to see some more consistency there. But I was proud of these guys tonight. We responded every time we needed to tonight.”
BOX SCORE
West: 18-11-12-17 — 58
Waverly: 7-8-13-22 — 50
West: 20-44 FG, 13-18 FT, 5-13 3pt., 21 rebounds (Shonkwiler 9), 7 turnovers, 8 assists (Wolfenbarker 3, Parker 2). Scoring: Kegley 24, Wolfenbarker 13, Adkins 8, Parker 4, Shonkwiler 4, Richards 3, Miller 2.
Waverly: 19-42 FG, 8-14 FT, 4-17 3pt., 20 rebounds (Hobbs 9), 12 turnovers, 12 assists (Hobbs 3, Alexander 3, Hurt 3). Scoring: S. Myers 17, Alexander 9, Hurt 8, G. Myers 8, Hobbs 5, Umphries 3.
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